Quinn Urwiler: Path To The NFL Draft

By Simon Carroll

Faith is a powerful thing. Faith in a higher being. Faith in those around you. But most importantly, faith in yourself; understanding what you have inside you, and having the conviction to push through when those with less mental fortitude throw in the towel.

Quinn Urwiler’s football career hasn’t come easy, but his self belief never wavered. And now he stands on the precipice of achieving his dream of a professional career. The Northern Illinois linebacker sits down with Simon Carroll to discuss his path to the NFL Draft.

A Football Upbringing

Not many people have an upbringing quite like Quinn Urwiler. Son of Donna and Gary, the future NFL linebacker was raised in Mooseheart, Illinois, a unique unincorporated community in Kane County that has been synonymous with his family since before he was born:

“Mooseheart is a small community west of Chicago that originally served as a home for lost children. My dad went to the school there and has worked around Mooseheart his whole entire life. Came back after college, was a principal, athletic director and head football coach, and hasn’t left since. He’s since been promoted to executive director and now oversees everything that happens on the campus. Basically, he signs all the checks and just makes sure the place stays moving. And that’s where I was brought up.”

Urwiler has been a ball of energy his entire life. Following in his father’s footsteps, he embraced the game of football from an early age – developing a taste for the physical side of the linebacker lifestyle that has been a hallmark of his career:

“I was always around football. I was always at practice when I was younger with the high school kids, and it was always fun because my dad would always let me and my two brothers put on pads and jump in the drills. My dad was a Hall of Fame quarterback at Eureka College, despite being just 5’5”. He was punter and kicker too, so he definitely encouraged us to play. I was the middle child, and the three of us would just basically run into each other. That was the start of my love for football; I think I started tackle football in second grade, and from there on it just kept going.”

Urwiler’s immediate love for the game saw him suit up for Batavia high school, predominantly as a linebacker and running back. But his need to be on the field saw him pick up extra duties wherever he could, and as a result was able to make an early contribution on special teams – the beginning of a long relationship with the ‘third phase’ of football:

“It was my freshman year in high school. Our varsity team, their long snapper got hurt, and one of my freshman buddies jokingly put my name forward. The coach pulled me up, and I ended up playing in two games on varsity as a freshman as a long snapper. And I got a tackle too, it was crazy!”

Rough Recruitment

Quinn Urwiler’s long snapper duties were just the start of an incredible high school career with the Bulldogs. During his time on the team, Batavia went 35-5 and won a state championship in 2017. Meanwhile, Urwiler was a three-time player of the year and accounted for 35 touchdowns – giving him the hope that a college career was there to be earned:

“I wound up having a strong junior year. Two of my teammates, both linebackers, were a grade above me. And they went to Northwestern and North Dakota State. I felt l had to keep the tradition alive, and so was determined to have a good senior year. I wasn’t really a big believer in camps, to be honest with you. If they didn’t think I could play, I usually just moved on to schools who had watched the tape. I didn’t understand why you needed to travel miles to a school just to show your footwork. Just put me in pads and see what I can do!”

Reluctantly, at the suggestion of his high school coaches, Urwiler began to help his own recruitment. And the rewards were almost immediate, with a pair of scholarship offers quickly coming from the FCS:

“I ended up doing a couple of camps. I went to the big Northwestern camp, ran a 4.5 [forty-yard dash], and I jumped my first 10’ in the broad jump. That’s when North Dakota gave me an offer. I was so excited! And then a couple of days later I took a visit to Eastern Illinois, and they gave me an offer. I thought two FCS offers was a great start, but without sounding disrespectful my dream was always to be on the biggest stage. But it was promising.”

But as Urwiler was about to find out, the recruiting process for most high school student athletes is a ruthless one. The prolific linebacker had his first battle with groupthink when it comes to measurables, one that would be a familiar adversary through his career:

“Suddenly, the offers dried up. I had no clue what was going on. I mean I met with a lot of schools; Iowa State showed some interest, and Western Michigan was very keen. If WMU had offered I would have taken it to be honest. But after five visits to Kalamazoo they still wanted me to go to camp. I had to move on. My dream school would have been NIU, just thirty minutes away, but a late coaching change there meant that didn’t happen either. The lack of offers kept playing in my head. What was it? I felt like I had the stats, was a good player. But I was a 5’10”, 185-pound linebacker. Maybe they just didn’t know where they could put me, or if I would get any bigger. So I was grateful for my two offers, locked in North Dakota, and didn’t look back.”

Heading North

It’s a ten-hour drive north up I-94 to Grand Forks, North Dakota. Despite leaving his family at such a young age, Quinn Urwiler found enough similarities with his Illinois life to settle in to his new home and focus on the most important thing of all – balling out on the gridiron:

“Honestly, North Dakota was everything I could have hoped for. Being that far away from home didn’t really bother me – I’m a country guy, like to be outside, and the remote nature of Grand Forks was nice. I loved the place, my teammates and my coaches, and loved the scheme that we ran there. In a 4-3, I was predominantly rushing or playing the flat. It was perfect for me; I felt like I could just get those pads on and go play flat out like I did back home.”

Despite a worldwide pandemic, Urwiler began to make his mark on the Fighting Hawks football team. After using the shortened season to hone his skills, 2021 would mark the birth of thumping linebacker’s college career:

“The first year at North Dakota was obviously when COVID hit. It was tough, but it not counting as a year meant I could run around on special teams and make a heap of tackles without losing eligibility. And then, ahead of my first real season, the coaches pulled me in and told me I would be in the rotation. There was a lot of us because of the seniors getting an extra year, but I was determined to take my chance. I remember playing in my first game at Utah State. We waited two hours to kick off because of a rain delay, and it was a whiteout in the stands – an incredible atmosphere. And for me to go out there and get a sack was just the perfect start. The whole season just took off from there.”

Anyone who has watched the FCS playoffs will be acutely aware of the quality of football that this subdivision produces on a yearly basis. It’s perceived inferiority to the FBS is usually born of ignorance rather than any statistics; regardless, Urwiler found sanctuary in a league that makes you earn every yard the hard way:

“People say the FCS is not as strong, but it’s pure smashmouth football. They don’t mess around with football in the Dakotas! It’s tough every snap. It’s something that I truly embraced; just putting your hand in the dirt, them pounding the rock and me seeing if I can stop it.”

Returning Home

After establishing himself in North Dakota, Quinn Urwiler was ready to step out of his comfort zone and challenge himself once more. Ever since he was a kid in Mooseheart running round with his brothers, he’d had ambitions of playing FBS football. Enjoying a 75% scholarship with the Fighting Hawks, chasing that dream would come at a cost, but the opportunity to head to DeKalb and be near his family led Urwiler to accept a preferred walk-on offer from Northern Illinois ahead of the 2022 season:

“I was ready for a change. It was all about timing really; I had some things happen in my personal life, and of course my brother Trey was playing at Northern Illinois. It was so close to my family, and I remember cheering on the Huskies as a kid. So I reached out to see if there was any interest from their end, and NIU got back to me and said they’d give me a chance. I was grateful for my two years in North Dakota, but it was time to go home.”

Urwiler went into NIU with his eyes wide open. Or so he thought; Head coach Thomas Hammock preaches doing things ‘the hard way’ with the Huskies. But the linebacker situation in DeKalb offered some adversity that would have challenged even the most mentally robust of us:

“I knew before I got there I was going to have to work my way up from the bottom. As a walk-on, there’s going to be scholarship guys ahead of you to beat out. What I didn’t know was that there were twenty other linebackers on the team! And to make things worse, the Huskies ran a 4-2-5, with just a Mike and a Will linebacker on the field. At Spring ‘ball, I could count on one hand the number of reps I had. And shortly after the linebacker coach sat me down and said I wasn’t going to cut it, that there were too many ahead of me at my position and I wouldn’t make the 105 for Fall camp. I was crushed; I’d left a scholarship at North Dakota to come here. Had I made the wrong decision?”

It’s hard to imagine the torment Urwiler must have felt at this juncture. He’d sacrificed an education that was mostly paid for to go to his childhood school, and it seemed over before it began. Urwiler just loves to play football. Had it been taken away from him?

“It was a real hard time. I went home for a couple of days to clear my head, think through my options. I remember texting Coach Hammock and telling him I just needed one chance, that I just wanted to hit somebody. And the next day he calls me, tells me that they’ve had some guys transfer out, and to get my butt back to DeKalb and show him what I got. That was all I needed, that one shot; I had to catch up a little, but when we got to that first padded practice I knew what I had to do. I had a real ‘screw this’ mentality. It was a kickoff drill, supposed to be a ‘tag’ drill, but I’m a tackle guy. Anyone who came my way was getting run down. And that’s exactly what I did – some guy tried to block me, and I just blew him up before making the play. From that moment, I was on kickoff.”

"I'm Never Going To Quit"

Some people need the door opening for them to take an opportunity. Others need just a crack to push themselves through. But Quinn Urwiler stared a shut door in the face and threw himself right through it. That one moment would kickstart a deliberate rise to more playing time, one earned ‘the hard way’ just like Coach Hammock demanded:

“Kickoff was just the start. From that moment on, I was in control. I had a chance to show them what I could do. Kickoff became kickoff return. Then punt. Then punt return. I embraced special teams with everything I had. And I finished that year with ten tackles on special teams, which was up there with anyone in the nation. That first year had so many ups and downs, but I was just so thankful to be able to end it that way. Through the year, where I persevered, others quit or transferred out. That told me I was doing something right, and I kept pressing on. Eventually they got down to eight linebackers, and I was one of them.”

Urwiler became a dominant force on special teams the first two years on the NIU campus. In 2024, he’d earned the right to see some rotational snaps on defense. But only one person saw what was coming last season, when the linebacker was finally given carte blanche to show what he could do. Urwiler is naturally humble, but to him, 2025 was never in doubt:

“I’m not someone who loves themselves or likes to boast, but I always knew that it was in me. I was a top five player in Illinois, voted for by established recruiters. It was a list that included J.J. McCarthy and Luther Burden. If they’re comparing me to these guys, I was confident I could play. It was just timing and opportunity. Those first three years at NIU, I worked my way up, contributed more and more. And before my final year my new defensive coordinator and linebackers coaches sat me down and told me I was their guy. I’d never heard that before. That trust meant everything to me, and I knew I would not disappoint them.”

Quinn Urwiler would make 141 tackles in his senior year, the most by any Husky in almost a quarter of a century. It was a number that ranked third in the whole nation, including 71 solo tackles to boot. Three years of self-belief and an uncompromising work ethic allowed Urwiler to have the kind of impact he’d expected from himself all along:

“I’m a big believer in Jesus Christ, and that everything happens for a reason. God put me in this position to show everybody that, yeah, you’re going to have hard times, right? But as long as you keep the faith, you can do anything. And it was tough, but I never lost faith. I was just blessed to be in a position to show people that I’m never going to quit, and I’m always going to persevere, even when people doubt me.”

The Miracle In South Bend

Quinn Urwiler leaves DeKalb as one of the most prolific linebackers in school history, a remarkable achievement considering the starting point four years ago. But Urwiler is a competitor, and the object of a football game is to win. Northern Illinois didn’t do as much of that as he would have liked in 2025, but he walks away with fond memories nonetheless:

“I’m so proud of my final season, and the culmination of my journey. But obviously team success is far more important than any individual achievement. Two 3-9 campaigns during my time there wasn’t how I wanted it to go, particularly after NIU won the MAC the year before I got there. And I just love playing football; as the season went on and when we started losing, I was so determined just get to six wins. I was begging to get one more game with my teammates. People don’t realise how fast six years goes, especially when you’re having fun.”

Considering his own arduous journey, it’s unsurprising that Urwiler has a pragmatic and optimistic outlook when it comes to success and how you measure it. For him, he wanted to be a Husky and be worthy of wearing the famous cardinal jersey, and he achieved that. So did his teammates, which Urwiler was keen to point out:

“A lot of people point fingers when you don’t win. But what was so pleasing was just how tight we were as a group. We weren’t going to let a three-win season destroy us. We still had a good defense last year, one that finished in the top 50 in the country. That speaks to our resilience as a unit, and the camaraderie between the guys. I had so much fun playing with them, and the memories of last year will always be special to me.”

Of course, one memory will sit proudly over any other during Urwiler’s time at NIU. On September 7th, 2024, the Huskies went to South Bend and defeated the #5-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14, marking the biggest upset in college football this century. If we’ve learned anything from Urwiler’s football journey to this point, it’s that belief is a powerful thing – even, it turns out, in front of ‘Touchdown Jesus’:

“That’s a game that people all over the world will look back on and wonder ‘how did they pull this off?’ And it’s simple really; we just believed in ourselves. My brother was on the team when they went to Michigan in 2021 and got smoked 63-10, and he will tell you that nobody – coaches included – believed they could win that game. And without belief, you have no chance. But when we got to Notre Dame, I remember Coach Hammock looking us all in the eye and asking, ‘why not us?’. He told us they’re not that good. He told us we were better than everyone thought. And he told us we were gonna win. And I, I swear, nobody made any jokes. We were all convinced. Going into the fourth quarter, with how close it was, we just knew we were going to make history. And when we blocked the field goal, it was the start of one almighty party. It was a party for probably too long, because we ended up losing to Buffalo the next week. But it was the time of everybody’s life here in DeKalb.”

A Hidden Talent

Quinn Urwiler is far from your classic NFL Draft prospect. His answers come from the heart, unpolished or uncoached as is often the case in these interviews. He has a passion for the game that not many match, one forged through the fear of never playing it again and the determination to not let that scary outcome happen without a fight. He’s excited for the opportunity ahead, but refused to move on without thanking an array of coaches for helping him get to this point. Brett Holinka, his defensive coordinator at North Dakota, defined his attention to detail and ability to play with belief. Robert Wimberly, known as ‘Coach Wimbo’, shares his love of football and has messaged him frequently throughout the process. And he describes Adam Breske, his linebacker coach at NIU, as a ‘genius’.

This praise of others is another example of Urwiler refusing to blow his own trumpet. Which is ironic, because before he was became the linebacker he is today, he was a dab hand with the musical instrument. Urwiler played the trumpet for three years because, in his own words, ‘he wanted something that was loud and could be heard’, and routes to entry for the saxophone and drums involved playing piano for two years or retaking a flunked exam. Picturing Urwiler with a horn in his hand is a struggle for my mind that is admittedly short on imagination, but he insists he was pretty good at it. His disdain for the subtle flute and clarinet is humorous, but also indicative of his approach to football; Urwiler is a wrecking ball, and he’s going to make you aware of his presence.

Shifting Focus

Quin Urwiler’s final year of college football has given the linebacker hope that the defeat to Kent State in December doesn’t have to be the last time he steps out onto the gridiron. His exploits for Northern Illinois have attracted the attention of the NFL, and now Urwiler is throwing himself wholeheartedly into turning the game he loves into a full-time profession. Invited to the inaugural American Bowl, the latest All-Star game during the pre-draft process, Urwiler was grateful for the opportunity to show pro scouts what he can do:

“I was so appreciative that Scott Phillips gave me the call and invited me out there. I put my heart, my blood, sweat, and tears into this and seeing people recognise it, and wanting me to represent their bowl game, it meant a lot. I did six days down there, meeting with NFL teams and making great relationships with all these athletes chasing the same dream as me. It made for great competition and great practices, in front of 250 scouts. I spoke to a few teams directly, and thought I gave a real good account of myself.”

That was a typical understatement from Urwiler, who was voted to one of the All-Star teams that week. Despite the strong showing, he admitted to being a bit rusty since last throwing on the pads:

“People would say I’m an undersized linebacker. But I was able to get off blocks, get around blocks and run to the ball very well. I believe that my speed is very good for my position. Being able to cover, obviously being on those one-on-one situations, that’s really what the scouts are looking for. I did three practices in total, and it was hard because my last game was the day after Thanksgiving. I needed some Advil after day one! But I enjoyed every second of it.”

The next stage of Urwiler’s three-month NFL job interview will be his Northern Illinois Pro Day, scheduled for March 12th. Currently working out at the school, Urwiler will be keen to show off all the attributes that were on display in 2025. By now, scouts should be prepared for good testing numbers – Urwiler is strong, quick and explosive. But the one number he’s battled throughout his career will never change. 5’10” linebackers are in short supply in the pro game, but Urwiler is confident he has the tape to defy the measurables:

“It comes down to them just seeing what I did on the football field. If they haven’t seen it already, I want my Pro Day to go make them run for the tape.  Obviously having that many tackles shows you something. It shows you that this kid just flies around. No matter what happens in the play, he’s always going to be around the ball. And in six years at college throwing myself at everything, I’ve never been injured. I’m going to believe in what’s got me to this point, and that’s refusing to accept no for an answer. My football career is not going to die easy. I’m going to put my best foot forward and continue to believe in myself.”

Keeping The Faith

Quinn Urwiler might not look like a linebacker you’d get from an NFL production line. But if he’s making more tackles than the guy next to him, does that matter? The league is all about production, and as far as prospects go, not many will bring more of that to the table than Urwiler. And if that’s not enough, there’s the added value of being an ‘absolute freak’ on special teams, a route of entry to gametime that this draft prospect is all too familiar with.

Urwiler will be back at home on draft weekend, alongside his parents who have encouraged him and supported him, and the brothers who played with him. He’s still the same ball of energy he was when his dad threw the pads on him at a young age, and sitting watching the draft for three days will feel like torture. Urwiler admits he’ll likely hit the gym a few times to take his mind off things, but his phone will be by his side, waiting for that special moment. Perhaps he can refamiliarize himself with the trumpet, who knows.

If and when that call does come, it will be the culmination of a journey that at times seemed improbable. But for Urwiler, that will make the moment all the more special:

“From a young age, I always had a football in my hand. And I remember at school, when they asked what you wanted to do when you were older, I would always say I want to be a football player. I want to be an NFL football player. It’s not anything with the money, the fame or anything like that. I just love the sport. I will die on that football field if I had the choice – I live and breathe this game so much. You can’t speak highly enough about the game of football and what it does to people. I would literally go in there and not get paid if it meant playing again. And it would just be an absolute blessing to be a part of an organisation and be able to repay their faith in me. My football story isn’t over yet.”

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

HEAD OF CFB/NFL DRAFT CONTENT

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST, IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER FOR DAZN AND COVERS THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION.

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A huge thank you to Quinn for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchdown wishes him well in his future career.